TEHRAN - A ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel has thrown a spotlight on the Tel Aviv regime’s desperation and its inability to accomplish military objectives in the war on Lebanon.  

The US-France-brokered truce began at 02:00 GMT on Wednesday after nearly 14 months of Israeli aggression against Lebanon.

The ceasefire agreement calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. 

Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor compliance.

According to US President Joe Biden, Israel will “gradually withdraw” its troops from southern Lebanon over the next 60 days. 

Hezbollah will also move its forces to north of the Litani River in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 war between Israel and the resistance group. 

Lebanse people celebrate Hezbollah’s triumph over Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose security cabinet approved the ceasefire agreement on Tuesday night, has asserted that the truce permits Israel to target Hezbollah should the resistance movement be deemed to have breached the terms of the accord.

Hezbollah has accepted the proposal. But Lebanese and Hezbollah officials rejected Netanyahu’s demand for freedom of action against the movement. 

“We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state. Any violation of sovereignty is refused,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told Al Jazeera.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati described the truce as a crucial step toward stability and the return of displaced people. 

Many people in Lebanon and the region have held celebrations over what they perceive as Hezbollah’s victory against Israel. 

Inside Israel, a poll conducted by Channel 13 News also revealed that more than 60 percent of Israelis believe the regime has failed to defeat Hezbollah.  This is while Netanyahu has tried to consider the ceasefire as an achievement for his cabinet. 
Israeli officials have disputed the premier’s claim. 

Israeli opposition figures have scoffed at PM Netanyahu’s claim of victory against Hezbollah. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the Netanyahu cabinet was “dragged into the agreement with Hezbollah”.  Referring to more than a year of fighting, he added that “northern communities were destroyed, the lives of the residents were destroyed, the army has been worn down.”

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett also admitted that Israel has failed to eliminate Hezbollah’s missile capabilities. 

“Hezbollah still has its stockpile of tens of thousands of rockets…and it can continue producing [weapons] and rearming,” Bennet said. 

Elsewhere, former war minister Avigdor Lieberman scoffed at Netanyahu over claims of triumph over Hezbollah.

“Netanyahu said until total victory, he just didn’t say the victory of which side,” Lieberman wrote on X. 

Israel and Hezbollah began trading fire a day after Netanyahu ordered his army to launch war on Gaza on October 7, 2023. Hezbollah carried out attacks on Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza where more than  44,000 people, including over 17,000 children have been killed in the course of the conflict. 

Exchanging attacks along border areas led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people from northern Israel and southern Lebanon. 

The Israeli army launched a massive bombing campaign in Lebanon on September 23 this year with the aim of returning displaced people to northern Israel and deterring Hezbollah’s attacks. The regime also sent its ground troops into southern Lebanon on October 1. 

But the Netanyahu regime has not only failed to return the evacuated Israelis to their residences but also Hezbollah has intensified attacks on strategic targets inside Israel. 

Poll: Israel’s Channel 13 News found that 61 percent of Israelis believe the regime has been unable to defeat Hezbollah.At the weekend, Hezbollah fired a record number of 350 missiles and drones into Israel which sent millions of people into shelters. 

Hezbollah has also announced that its fighters have killed more than 100 Israeli troops and wounded over 1,000 others on the battlefield in southern Lebanon over the past two months. 

In the absence of any military achievements, Netanyahu has tried to create the impression that he has made gains.  Israel has killed more than 3,800 people and wounded nearly 16,000 others in Lebanon since October last year. This could be Israel’s sole achievement!

Israel’s war on Lebanon is rooted in its miscalculations. The regime declared war on Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. In both conflicts, the Israeli army was met with strong resistance from Hezbollah and had to retreat. 

In 2006, Israel was humiliated as it had to end the war after 34 days. 

In mid-August 2021, an Israeli inquiry acknowledged the regime’s failure to achieve its goal in the 2006 war, describing the conflict as “unsuccessful” and a “missed opportunity”.

“Israel initiated a long war, which ended without its clear military victory,” the inquiry said. 

Israel has assassinated multiple Hezbollah officials over the past decades. The regime martyred Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, nearly two months ago. It later assassinated Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, the head of the movement’s Executive Council.

But Israel has failed to bring Hezbollah to its knees. The martyrdom of Hezbollah’s leaders and commanders has reinforced the movement's strength.

The US-France-brokered ceasefire for Lebanon clearly indicates that Israel and its Western allies are widely aware that Hezbollah will remain invincible. They have also realized that Hezbollah fighters and its supporters remain as brave as a lion when they face the bully.